The last trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania gave us our best glimpse yet of MODOK's introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From the quick glimpses we get of this giant-headed character in the trailer, we can see MODOK alongside Kang (Jonathan Majors), Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in Ant-Man's third film. But for those of you who saw the trailer and had questions like, "who is this weird guy with a massive head," well, we've got answers for you!
The Origins of MODOK
MODOK (or M.O.D.O.K., which stands for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) first appeared in Marvel Comics' Tales of Suspense #94 in October 1967. MODOK was a creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and initially was a recurring foe for Captain America before crossing paths with other Marvel heroes over the course of his 55 years in the comics. He began life as George Tarleton, a technician for Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), an arms-dealing organization founded by his father. Tarleton would undergo mutagenic medical experimentation with the intent of increasing his intelligence. While the experiments succeeded in doing as intended, the side effects resulted in Tarleton developing a disturbing, large and overdeveloped head and a stunted body, with a hoverchair being his only means of mobility ('big head' — now you know who we're talking about). Seizing the opportunity, MODOK kills his creators and takes control of A.I.M.
After battling the likes of Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Doom and Iron Man, and now harboring an obsessive desire for vengeance, MODOK is ousted by A.I.M. Spending the next number of years trying to regain control of the organization and world domination, naturally, MODOK unleashes a nerve agent in New York City, develops a new biological agent called Virus X, uses Hulk villain the Abomination as an enforcer, and hacks spy satellites. Oh, and made a Ms. MODOK, his female counterpart, but that didn't last. MODOK would eventually regain his seat as the leader of A.I.M., and as a member of the Intelligencia played a part in the creation of Red Hulk and Red She-Hulk in the 2010 Incredible Hulk storyline "Fall of the Hulks." A series of events resulted in MODOK turning back into George Tarleton, who is taken into custody by the U.S. Military, despite the supposed inability to remember his time as MODOK.
A brain cloned from the original MODOK developed into the next iteration of the villain, calling himself MODOK Superior. MODOK Superior had the appearance, intelligence level, and mental powers of the OG MODOK, but seemingly eliminated that form's weaknesses. In the pages of West Coast Avengers, MODOK Superior became an attractive, long-haired man called BRODOK (Bio-Robotic Organism Designed Overwhelmingly for Kissing — you can't make this stuff up) before his scheme to turn the people of Los Angeles into giant, mindless monsters was stopped, reverting him back to his original appearance. Finally, during the events of "Iron Man 2020," MODOK Superior took control of Ultimo's head and for his "final" form became Ulti-MODOK.
MODOK's Appearances So Far
MODOK is often used as a comic foil in both print and television, given his odd appearance. In the pages of Nextwave, there were four Elvis Presley-fied MODOKs, whose main attack involved shooting cheeseburgers. In television, MODOK (Tom Kenny) was often paired with the Abomination (Steve Blum) on the kids' animated The Super Hero Squad Show as comic relief, and similarly in Disney's Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel (Charlie Adler). In 2021, MODOK was given the chance to shine on his own adult-oriented parody of sitcoms in Hulu's Marvel's M.O.D.O.K., brought to life with stop-motion animation voiced by the talented Patton Oswalt. The show centered around MODOK, who has run A.I.M. into bankruptcy, forcing its sale to evil corporation GRUMBL. MODOK is forced to live with his failures, deal with his mid-life crisis, and manage his eccentric family. Marvel's M.O.D.O.K. was a critical hit, a ridiculous and bizarre series that had no ties to the current MCU, allowing it unbridled creativity: Bugs Bunny-like violence (but with enormous bloodshed), an entire episode around 90s band Third Eye Blind, and Iron Man (Jon Hamm) saving the world while catching up on old BBC episodes of The Great British Bake-Off, to name a few instances of oddities in the show. Unfortunately, Hulu cancelled the show after one season (but definitely worth catching if you can).
Which now brings us up to MODOK's upcoming debut in the MCU. The last trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania revealed that the MCU MODOK is fully robotic, with the visual of the large face on a screen of sorts, akin to Arnim Zola's (Toby Jones) computer screen appearance in Captain America and the Winter Soldier. The villain is recognizable, so the look doesn't stray too far from the comics. However, it doesn't look like the MCU MODOK has any relation to his origin as George Tarleton in print since Corey Stoll, who played Darren Cross (also known as Yellowjacket) in the first Ant-Man film, will be the one playing MODOK this time around. Regardless, word is that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is "going to change the Marvel Cinematic Universe permanently," and it would not be surprising to know that MODOK plays a big part in that change.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania debuts exclusively in theaters on February 17. Check out the latest trailer below: